@新启蒙熊伟: In Wukan, an old grandmother gets her voter certification, a new thing for her. The ballot is a bridge leading to grassroots democracy and has an intimate relationship to Wukan villagers’ property rights. (@黄志 adds: An ordinary and [yet] great day! Although it’s just one little village, this counts as the first real self-election in the last 62 years–[villagers] can really vote however they feel!)

赵鹏自媒体: An election! Preparations for Wukan’s election is nervously underway. Elementary school students have also been mobilized, under the village’s leadership they will count the ballots, [while] university students coming back to celebrate the Lunar New Year held a meeting at 4 o’clock in the main village courtyard. Lin Zuluan will mobilize this large group of university students to volunteer to serve as election workers. Wukan is one big piece of busy-ness. In the face of pressure, under Lin Zuluan’s leadership, they nervously prepare for the election work.

新启蒙熊伟: Mr. Lin Zuluan at the afternoon meeting to train election workers, encouraging people to definitely get this election [prepared] well. Mr. Lin Zuluan has become the spiritual leader of Wukan village, and his prestige within the village is already very high.

@新启蒙熊伟: The election venue has a pick-up car for people with special needs.

@新启蒙熊伟: Wukan villagers set up a new election venue on their own. These are secret ballot boxes.

@新启蒙熊伟: These last few days, Lin Zuluan’s daughter is the most hard-working of the volunteers; every day when I went I saw her working. There were times at 11 o’ clock at night when I would see her still working. She is still a student.

David Wertime

David is the co-founder and co-editor of Tea Leaf Nation. He first encountered China as a Peace Corps Volunteer in 2001 and has lived and worked in Fuling, Chongqing, Beijing, and Hong Kong. He is a ChinaFile fellow at the Asia Society and an associate fellow at the Truman National Security Project.